Enduring to the End
We are told in the scriptures and by the prophets that we must “Endure to the End”, but what exactly does that mean? Keeping your faith through trials? Lifting others up who need help along the path? When I think of endurance, I often think of pushing through something hard to get to something better. But that’s not always the case. Enduring to the end is so much more.
The scriptures use the term endure to mean “to last,” “to continue,” or “to remain,” rather than “to suffer.”
To me, this means that we need to remain faithful until the end, and when I say remain faithful, I mean striving to keep the covenants that we have made. To do this we must first enter into the covenant by being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and then, remaining faithful to the covenants we have made. We are promised several times throughout the scriptures that if we are “obedient to the commandments, and endure to the end, [we] shall be saved at the last day.” (2 Nephi 22:31).
L. Tom Perry gave a talk and named 5 steps on How To Endure to the End. I am going to read and elaborate on them
- First, it requires the Savior’s redemptive power. “No unclean thing can dwell with God”. Christ HAD to come to Earth and atone for our sins otherwise we would not be able to return to live with our father in Heaven. Going along with that, we have to actually apply the Atonement to our lives through the process of repentance. Every Sunday, we partake of the sacrament to renew our baptismal covenants.
See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in nowise be cast out. (Mormon 9:29)
- Second, enduring to the end requires the Holy Ghost. This, I feel like is pretty self explanatory. The Holy Ghost is there to lead and guide us in the right direction. Without the guidance of the Spirit, we would be lost. One of the most important things for me, is that I am always worthy to have the companionship of the Spirit.
“The gift [of the Holy Ghost] can come only after proper and authorized baptism, and is conferred by the laying on of hands. … The gift of the Holy Ghost is the right to have, whenever one is worthy, the companionship of the Holy Ghost” (Bible Dictionary, “Holy Ghost”, 704).
- Third, we must be an integral part of a community of Saints. When we are baptized, we symbolically become part of the body of Christ and physically become part of a ward/ stake family. We each play a sacred role in that family, either as a Relief Society President, or Sunday School teacher, or a Pianist. Each cell in an organism counts and we each matter. “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:10).
- Fourth, we must share the gospel with others. Our role as missionaries is to:
"Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end."
As member missionaries we are asked to share the gospel with our friends and invite them to activities. A couple years ago, the Texas Dallas mission president, Devin G. Durrant, gave us a challenge to invite others to come unto Christ. I want to re-challenge that challenge. It doesn’t have to be a huge gesture, you don’t have to invite them to be baptized, but you can do simple things. For example, you can invite them over for dinner and happen to have the missionaries over for dinner the same night. Or you can share your favorite talk from General Conference on Facebook.
And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father (D&C 18:15).
- Finally, we must always maintain faith and hope in Christ. This I think is one of the most important steps.
"The words for faith, faithful, and faithfulness all come from the Hebrew ‘aman, which means “to be firm or reliable” and implies primarily qualities of loyalty and determination. Thus, being faithful means that we can be trusted to keep our commitments" (Enduring to the End, Stephen E. Robinson).
Besides keeping the commandments, other ways we can show our faith include:
- Looking unto Christ (see 3 Ne. 15:9)
- Taking upon us the name of Christ (see 3 Ne. 27:6)
- Feasting upon the words of Christ and pressing forward in steadfastness, hope, and love (see 2 Ne. 31:20)
- Offering our whole souls to Christ and continuing in fasting and prayer (see Omni 1:26)
- Following the example of Christ (see 2 Ne. 31:16)
- Worshipping the Father in the name of Christ (see D&C 20:29)
- Seeking to bring forth Zion (see 1 Ne. 13:37)
- Being patient in afflictions and humble in repentance (see Alma 32:15; D&C 24:8)
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